Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas
Raspadita: a new lithic tool from the Isthmus of Rivas, Nicaragua
Jolene Debert a,1, Barbara L. Sherriff b,*
b
a
Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T2N2, Canada
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T2N2, Canada
Received 10 June 2006; received in revised form 22 January 2007; accepted 23 January 2007
Abstract
A new lithic tool type was discovered at the Pacific Nicaraguan archaeological site of Santa Isabel (AD 800e1350) and named raspadita
(small scraper). Thousands of these small tools (1e2 cm in length) were found. They have a rounded proximal edge and a pointed distal
end. In this study, the raspaditas are proved to be a coherent tool class with minimal variation in size, shape, material type and usewear.
They were manufactured from white chert bladelet cores using soft hammer percussion and pressure flaking unifacial retouch. Usewear points
to a composite tool form and a scraping function for the raspaditas. Scanning electron microscopy determined a ventral leading, dorsal following,
unidirectional scraping motion for the raspadita proximal end. The material that was scraped has still to be definitely determined but phytoliths
visible in the SEM images suggest that the composite tool was used for plant processing.
Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Raspadita; Composite tool; Grater; Chert; Stone tool function; Usewear; Scanning electron microscopy; Nicaragua; Santa Isabel
1. Introduction
The raspaditas were found at the archaeological site of Santa
Isabel, on the shore of Lake Nicaragua in the Isthmus of Rivas,
Nicaragua. Excavations, between 2000 and 2004, revealed
thousands of these small lithic tools (McCafferty et al.,
2003). The raspaditas are about 1e2 cm in length with
a rounded proximal edge and a pointed distal end. They can
be divided into symmetrical and asymmetrical forms (Fig. 1).
Symmetrical raspaditas are identified by a mirror plane of symmetry along the length of the tool, bisecting the end at 90 .
Asymmetric types do not have a mirror plane of symmetry.
Due to their size and to the configuration of the proximal
surface, these tools were named raspaditas, meaning small
scrapers in Spanish (McCafferty et al., 2003). This new tool,
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ1 204 474 9786; fax: þ1 204 474 7623.
E-mail address: [email protected] (B.L. Sherriff).
1
Present address: Department of Archaeology, University of Manchester,
Manchester, UK.
0305-4403/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.01.008
comprising over 70% of the 3000 formal tools at Santa Isabel,
has not been reported from other sites in the region.
The 16-hectare residential site at Santa Isabel contains at
least ten house mounds (Fig. 2) (Fowler, 1989; Healy, 1980;
McCafferty et al., 2003; Niemel, 2002). Willey and Norweb
first reported the site in 1959e1961 (Healy, 1980), although
it remained relatively unexcavated until 2000. The site was
dated to the Ometepe period (1350e1550 CE), based on diagnostic ceramics collected from the surface and later recovered from subsurface deposits (Fowler, 1989; Healy, 1980;
McCafferty et al., 2003; Niemel, 2002; Steinbrenner, 2002).
However, 12 recent radiocarbon dates (890e1290 CE), from
the site, place it in the ceramic Sapoa period (850e1350 CE)
(McCafferty and Steinbrenner, 2005).
The objectives of this study were (1) to determine if raspaditas form a coherent new lithic type, (2) to define this tool
class and (3) to determine how the tools were used. To identify
the unique characteristics of the raspaditas, their dimensions
were compared with those of other lithic tools from Santa
Isabel. If the raspaditas form a proper lithic type, then the
defining characteristics of the group should be unique and
have a degree of homogeneity that is statistically significant.
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
1890
A
B
Proximal End
Midsection
Distal Tip
Fig. 1. Symmetrical (A) and asymmetrical (B) raspaditas: scale bar is 0.5 cm.
Function was addressed by examining the traces of usewear
using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The
location of the raspaditas was fed into a geographical information system (GIS) to observe the spatial clustering.
2. Methods
The geographical coordinates and depth data for all raspaditas collected in 2004 were entered into an Excel spreadsheet
grouped by locus. Locus and shovel test data were then imported into ArcView as separate databases. The location of
the raspaditas locations were then compared to archaeological
features.
The length, width, and thickness of 244 unbroken raspaditas
were measured with callipers. The length is defined as the distance from the proximal end of the tool to the distal tip (Fig. 1).
The width is the widest part of the proximal end, which is perpendicular to length for the symmetrical raspaditas (Fig. 1a). In
the case of asymmetric raspaditas, the width was measured
along the use edge (Fig. 1b). The thickness was measured as
the maximum difference between the dorsal and ventral surfaces, regardless of location. The edge angles were measured,
with a contact goniometer, on 1349 raspaditas which had a portion of the proximal end unbroken. Traces of manufacture and
usewear were recorded in the field, for all raspaditas collected.
The dimensions of 244 complete raspaditas were analysed
statistically to determine if the raspaditas constituted a definable lithic tool class. Co-variation and correlation factors
were used to determine if there was a dependence of the
length, width, and thickness of the raspaditas.
Cluster analysis was applied to 698 unbroken lithic tools collected from Santa Isabel including 244 symmetric raspaditas, 7
asymmetric raspaditas, 5 axes, 15 bifaces, 21 blades, 22 borers,
4 choppers, 31 drills, 3 hafted blades, 24 hafted knifes, 10 hafted
scrapers, 14 knives, 1 multitool, 16 perforators, 15 points, 111
scrapers, 3 spokeshaves, 150 utilized flakes and 2 pieces of utilized shatter (Fig. 3). The characteristics entered were length,
width, thickness, edge angle, material type, unifacial or bifacial,
retouch and use locale. Some of these are not numerical qualities, and as such had to be converted into binary terminology.
Traits defining the raspadita tool class were given the value of
0, and the others were valued at 1 (Table 1).
A sample of 70 raspaditas was selected for usewear examination. Of these, 26 were selected for SEM based on their
completeness and the presence of usewear. The usewear on
each tool was recorded by section (end, tip, and midsection)
and by the location in that section (body, edge, ridge, depression or arris). The type of usewear was described as (1)
Road
Mound 3 Locus 1
Mound 5
Locus 5
Locus 3
Locus 2
Mound 6
N
Mound 1
Locus 4
Mound 2
0
30
Fig. 2. Diagram of the archaeological site of Santa Isabel showing the position
of mounds and excavated loci.
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
1891
Fig. 3. Tools types, other than raspaditas, included in dimension cluster analysis. Scale intervals are 1 cm.
microchipping, i.e. small flakes removed during use not exceeding 5 mm (Katz et al., 1974); (2) micropolish, i.e. a general smoothing and removal of topography, caused by abrasion
(Andrefsky, 1995); and (3) striations, i.e. linear scratches
caused by abrasion (Katz et al., 1974). Micro-chipping was
recorded as step terminating, transverse (across the edge),
isolated or chained; polish, as fully or partially developed or
only rounded; and striations as perpendicular to, parallel to,
or transverse (across) the use edge, and as isolated or grouped.
The raspaditas selected for SEM were washed in ultrasonic
baths of soap and water, then in double distilled water and finally in acetone. They were mounted onto aluminium stubs
and coated with gold to prevent charge build up in the SEM
chamber.
3. Distribution of the raspaditas
There is a spatial concentration of raspaditas with other
lithic tools in specific regions of the excavated portion of Santa
Isabel. The majority of the 1 m2 excavation units contain <20
raspaditas but five units contain over 60. One of these units is
in Locus 4, on the slope of Mound 1 (Fig. 2). A second unit is
in Locus 5, in a low-lying area between Mounds 1, 6 and 3,
which is associated with human burials. The other three units
are all in Locus 2 on Mound 6. In Locus 2, a unit in the northwest corner is associated with a possible kiln or hearth feature
and two units in the southeast are associated with a number of
floors and walls. Thus, the raspaditas, as well as other lithics,
cluster around cultural deposits, including non-domestic areas.
4. Unique form of the raspaditas
The raspaditas have a consistent unifacial form with a proximal convex surface and a distal tip. On average, they are
1.50 cm long, 0.40 cm wide and 0.48 cm thick with a tip length
of 0.54 cm (Table 2). The edge angles of the 1004 complete or
almost complete raspaditas ranged from 58 to 123 similar to
the expected range for scrapers (60e150 ) (Andrefsky, 1995).
The dimensional co-variance and correlation factors were determined for the raspaditas collected in 2004 (Table 3). Length
and width have the highest co-variation, and, thus, are the most
dependant. However, all dimensions co-varied with each other
to some extent.
When the dimensions of the raspaditas are compared to
those of the other complete tools from Santa Isabel (Figs. 4e
6), they cluster together with minimal visual variation. Some
Table 1
Schematic of binary values for raspadita characteristics
0
1
Length (cm)
Width (cm)
Thickness (cm)
Facial
Rock type
Colour
Edge angle
Retouch
Retouch
Use locale
<3
3
<2
2
<1
1
Uni
Bi
Chert
Non-chert
Light
Dark
60e130
<60, >130
Present
Absent
2 areas
<2> areas
2 areas
<2> areas
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
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Table 2
Dimensions of raspaditas
Measurement
Range
(cm)
Average
(cm)
Standard
deviation
Length
Width
Thickness
Length of tip
2.60e0.75
1.80e0.40
1.00e0.20
0.98e0.37
1.50
0.89
0.48
0.54
0.37
0.24
0.15
0.09
tool classes have individuals that plot within the raspadita cluster but there is considerably more variation within other groups.
Drills, perforators and borers plot closest to the raspaditas but
they do not have scraper edges. Hafted knives have a similar
shape but they have more acute edge angles (<50 ) and these
angles are usually found on a side not on the proximal end
like the raspaditas (58e123 ).
Another way of determining whether the raspaditas constituted a unique group was to convert all traits into binary values
and then run cluster analyses. Raspadita characteristics were
given the value 0 and deviations the value of 1. The higher the
average score for each tool the greater the difference from the
raspadita tool class. Tools were grouped according to assigned
type. Symmetrical and asymmetric raspaditas were treated as
separate groups. Table 4 contains the summation of binary
values for each characteristic and each class of tools.
All symmetric raspaditas obtained a value of 0, but two of
the seven asymmetrical raspaditas varied from the group because of different edge angles, giving this group a difference
of 0.3 (Table 4). When the average differences were examined
four separate groups can be identified with average differences
below 1 (symmetrical and asymmetrical raspaditas), between 1
and 2 (haftable blades, scrapers, and knives, and spoke shaves),
between 3 and 4 (blades, perforators, utililized shatters, borers,
knives, and drills), and above 4 (biface points, choppers, utililized flakes, axes, multitools and bifaces).
5. Material and manufacture
The colour of the chert was recorded for all of the tools collected in 2004. The symmetric and asymmetric raspaditas were
made entirely of white and pinkish white chert with inclusions.
When all of the tools are compared, the raspaditas have the
highest percent of white chert whereas the category of pinkish
chert is evenly distributed throughout the total tool collection.
The platforms at the proximal end of the raspaditas contain
1e2 platform scars and are ovate, plano-convex or triangular;
ovate being most common (52%). Most raspaditas contain
bulbs of percussion, which are quite diffuse and do not show
bulbar fissures or eraillure scars (Luedtke, 1992; Odell,
Table 3
Co-variation of dimensions of raspaditas; correlation coefficients are given in
parentheses
Length
Width
Thickness
Length
Width
Thickness
1
0.039 (0.45)
0.024 (0.43)
1
0.016 (0.44)
1
1981). The platforms, which are from 4.2 mm to 2.9 mm in
length and 2.4 mm to 1.5 mm in width, are often associated
with lips (Fig. 7). These characteristics suggest soft hammer
flake detachment (Andrefsky, 1995; Katz et al., 1974). Unifacial retouch has removed most traces of the original termination from the distal tips of the raspaditas. The retouch flake
scars (from 5.3 mm to 3.1 mm) are feather terminating and relatively shallow indicating a possible pressure flaking removal
strategy (Andrefsky, 1995; Katz et al., 1974; Odell, 1981).
Fifty-eight blade or bladelet cores, that were the appropriate size and material for the raspaditas, were found at Santa
Isabel in 2004 (Fig. 8). It is likely that the cores used to produce raspaditas were prepared and the removal of flakes organized so that the resulting blanks would be uniform and
require limited retouch. Also, the small number of chert blades
found at Santa Isabel could indicate that blade cores were used
to manufacture the raspaditas.
6. Usewear
The usewear is not distributed evenly across the surface of
the raspaditas as the proximal ends contain more microwear
than the tip and the mid-section. However, there is a consistent
usewear pattern among the 26 raspaditas examined under
SEM. The usewear of symmetrical and asymmetrical raspaditas are compared with tanged points, end scrapers, drills and
perforators. These lithic categories would be expected to
show usewear consistent with hafting, perforating or scraping
(Table 4).
Microchipping is confined to and spread across the proximal end of the raspaditas in an equidistant pattern on the
dorsal edge surfaces. Most microchips are feather terminating
and ovate, although 23% of the raspaditas also contain stepterminating microflaking (Fig. 9). All raspaditas contain ventral end edge rounding and polish, as well as dorsal end ridge
rounding and polish (Fig. 10). Striations, perpendicular to the
edge, are present in the ventral end edge polish on 85% of the
raspaditas (Fig. 11). The ends of 12% of the raspaditas examined also contain parallel striations and 15% have transverse
striations (Fig. 12).
The majority of microwear on the tip section of the raspaditas consists of spot polishing, rounding and sporadic microchipping on ridges and edges, with about 30% containing
step-terminating microflakes (Fig. 13). Striations, on about
20% of the tips, are in areas containing spot polish and rounding
(Fig. 14). Microchipping is distributed randomly across the tips
in inverse proportion to the number of striations. This type of
microwear is often caused by the movement of a tool within
its haft (Anderson, 1980; Cantwell, 1979; Johannessen and
Hasdorf, 1994; Mansur, 1982), suggesting that the tip was inserted into a haft and the proximal end used.
Microchipping was found on the mid-section of 58% of the
raspaditas. Forty-six percent contained ridge and 50% edge
rounding, while 23% also have ventral edge and dorsal ridge
polish. The striations in the mid-section appear to relate to
the microwear found on the proximal end. 8% contained parallel, 12% perpendicular, and 8% transverse to edge striations.
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
8
1893
A
7
Width (cm)
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Length (cm)
Width (cm)
1.8
B
1.3
0.8
0.3
0.7
1.2
1.7
2.2
2.7
Length (cm)
Fig. 4. A plot of length vs width for (A) all tool classes except raspaditas and (B) for unbroken raspaditas.
Other lithic tools, examined with the raspaditas, were also
divided into end, tip and midsection (Table 5). Spot polish,
rounding and striations of different orientations, and sporadic
microchipping were found on the haft of the tanged point. This
is similar to the usewear on the tip of the raspaditas. The end
of the drill contains spot and ridge rounding and polishing suggesting prehension or hafting (Calley and Grace, 1988; Yerkes,
1983). The perforator has only ridge rounding with a few random shallow microchips. The end scraper has similar usewear,
including edge polish and rounding, ridge polish and rounding
on both sides and striations perpendicular or transverse on
both edges on its end, tip and midsection. Other scraper microwear in the form of micro and macrochipping was observed
throughout the length of the tool. All this wear is confined
to one side of the tool. The broken surface gives this end
scraper a characteristic raspadita form but it does not contain
any microwear.
The similarities, between the usewear on the tip of the raspaditas and the hafted, more conventional tools, indicate that
the raspaditas were most likely inserted into a board to form
a composite tool. The scraper type of usewear on the proximal
end of the raspadita shows that they had a scraping function.
7. Residues
Residues were found by SEM embedded in the ventral edge
polish on the proximal ends of the raspaditas. The residues were
subdivided into four sub categories based on morphology. These
included short-ovate (length z width), long-ovate (length 2 width), rectangular (squared off edges), and cross-shaped
(rectangular with corners removed) (Fig. 15). The size of the residues is 15e20 mm in length and 5e20 mm in width. Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) spectra of the residues showed a slight
increase in Si content relative to the background chert but no
additional elements. If these structures are organic, a drop in
Si counts would be expected as EDX cannot detect elements
lighter than fluorine. Therefore, the residues appear to contain
silicon. Over 50 individual ovate residues were found, generally
clustering in groups larger than five.
The ovate residues are similar in form and location to the experimental phytolith residues produced by Anderson (1980). Her
work established a new relationship between phytoliths and the
creation of polish. Previously, the silica in plants was thought to
increase polish through abrasion. However, she suggested that
phytoliths aid in the formation of amorphous silica, comprised
of both the tool and plant silica, which is responsible for the
smooth surface of the polish. She also found that during the
formation of the polish, unmelted phytoliths can become trapped
in the surface and in some cases retain enough of their structure
to be identified (Piperno, 1989; Piperno and Pearsall, 1998).
Silica phytoliths range in size from 5 to 30 mm depending
on the shape (Piperno, 1989; Piperno and Holst, 1998; Piperno
and Pearsall, 1998). The ovate residues are the right size,
shape and material to be phytoliths. Their location in areas
4
A
Thickness (cm)
3
2
1
0
0
2
4
8
6
Width (cm)
1.1
B
Thickness (cm)
0.9
0.7
0.5
0.3
0.1
0.3
0.5
0.7
0.9
1.1
1.3
1.5
1.7
1.9
Width (cm)
Fig. 5. A plot of width vs thickness for (A) all tool classes except raspaditas, and (B) for unbroken raspaditas.
Thickness (cm)
4
A
3
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Length (cm)
1.1
B
Thickness (cm)
0.9
0.7
0.5
0.3
0.1
0.7
1.2
1.7
2.2
2.7
Length (cm)
Fig. 6. A plot of length vs thickness for (A) all tool classes except raspaditas, and (B) for unbroken raspaditas.
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
1895
Table 4
Differences of tool classes; each cell contains the number of tools which differ from the properties of the raspaditas
Tool type
Two
Edge
Number Thickness Length Width Chert/non Light/dark Uni/biface Retouch Total
Total Average
retouch angle
of use
difference tools difference
areas
60e130 locales
per tool
Symmetric raspaditas
0
Asymmetric raspaditas
0
Haftable blades
1
Haftable scrapers
0
Spoke shaves
3
Haftable knifes
0
Total scrapers
88
Blades
21
Perforators
15
Util. shatters
2
Borers
22
Knifes
12
Drills
30
Biface points
2
Choppers
0
Util. flakes
152
Axes
0
Multitools
0
Bifaces
8
0
2
1
0
0
23
2
11
16
0
22
14
31
0
0
88
1
2
13
0
0
0
1
0
0
24
1
16
0
22
1
31
0
0
152
1
2
12
0
0
0
3
1
3
11
1
1
0
4
6
0
11
4
17
5
2
7
0
0
1
3
0
6
18
1
1
0
4
3
4
7
4
22
5
2
11
0
0
0
3
0
6
25
6
0
2
4
9
1
10
4
93
5
2
14
0
0
1
0
0
2
20
4
2
0
2
2
1
12
3
8
4
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
3
1
4
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
5
19
0
2
0
0
0
15
0
152
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
2
15
1
0
1
1
6
7
14
3
152
3
2
14
0
2
4
11
5
42
202
65
51
7
81
53
105
74
21
837
28
12
91
244
7
3
8
3
24
110
21
16
2
22
14
31
15
4
152
5
2
15
0.0
0.3
1.3
1.4
1.7
1.8
1.8
3.1
3.2
3.5
3.7
3.8
3.9
4.9
5.3
5.5
5.6
6.0
6.1
The far right column contains the average difference for each tool class.
of high polish and only in use locales also supports this finding. An alternative explanation is that amorphous silica may
have been liberated during use and formed these ovate masses
(Krauskopf, 1979; Morey et al., 1962, 1964). The consistent
dimensions and the structure of the ovate residues do not support this hypothesis of melting and recrystallization.
8. Function of the raspaditas
of their attachment suggest that the raspaditas were used on
plant material containing phytoliths.
Functions hypothesised for the raspadita composite tool included manioc grating, fish scaling, maize processing or as
general graters. As each of these functions would require different orientation and usage, they would create different usewear patterns on the tools (Table 6). The usewear found by
SEM analysis could then shed light on the usage.
The abundance, uniformity, usewear characteristics and
geographical clustering of the raspaditas suggest that they
formed part of a composite tool. The form of the composite
tool could be similar to the bitter manioc (Manihot esculenta)
graters found to the south of Nicaragua (Sauer, 1950), where
flakes are inserted in a parallel orientation to the length of a relatively flat wooden surface.
The phytolith residues indicate that the raspaditas came into
contact with plants. As the raspaditas were recovered from agricultural fields, it is possible that these residues adhered to the
surface after use. However, the restricted area and the tenacity
Fig. 7. Raspadita manufacture characteristics.
Fig. 8. White chert bladelet core from Santa Isabel which contains a termination and parts of a prepared platform. Scale bar is 1 cm.
1896
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
Fig. 9. Microflaking on proximal dorsal end of symmetric raspaditas. Note the abrupt termination of step-terminating flakes. The broad arrow indicates the location
of the SEM image on the raspadita.
8.1. Manioc grating
Ethnographic as well as usewear studies on bitter manioc
grater blades indicate that the preferred orientation of the flake
inserts is parallel to the length of the board and use. This orientation creates edge polish, microchipping and ridge polish
clusters at the lateral sides of the use end and the striations
run parallel to this edge. The inserted portion should show evidence of hafting such as spot polish, and sporadic rounding
(Nieuwenhuis, 2002).
The raspaditas show edge polish and microchipping on
their proximal ends. However, the usewear is spread evenly
across the surface suggesting that the entire surface was
subjected to the wear not just the lateral edges. The striations
on the raspaditas run perpendicular to the edge not parallel,
which indicates that the raspaditas were used in perpendicular
rather than the parallel orientation of the bitter manioc graters.
Bitter manioc blades are usually sharp unretouched flakes used
to slice and shred the tuber, whereas the raspaditas are a uniform
retouched tool type with a blunted end. Thus, there is limited evidence for the use of the raspaditas as bitter manioc graters blades.
8.2. Fish scaling
Another composite lithic tool from South America, the fish
scaler, is similar in appearance to a manioc grater and often
Fig. 10. Ventral end edge polish of a symmetric raspadita (the smooth dark band running along the edge). Rounding involves limited smoothing but not to the extent
of polish which removes all topography. The broad arrow indicates the location of SEM image on the raspadita.
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
1897
Fig. 11. A symmetrical raspadita showing striations (white line) perpendicular to the proximal ventral end edge. The dorsal side is on the left.
misidentified in the archaeological literature (Perry, 2002). Typically, fish scalers were made of wood and lithic flakes, but fish
shaped ceramic boards containing ceramic appliqués have also
been found (Perry, 2002). Traditionally, lithic inserts are unworked flakes, although unlike the manioc grater flakes a blunt
edge is often selected or accomplished with minimal retouch for
the use surface (Tomenchuk, 1997). This blunt surface is orientated perpendicular to the length of the board and use. The usewear associated with fish scalers includes microchipping, polish
across the end edge ridge surface, striations perpendicular to
edge with spot polish, and rounding on the tip.
The usewear study of the raspaditas supports the possibility
of their use as fish scalers. Based on the type and location of the
microwear fish scaling is a variable option for the raspaditas.
The only difference is that the raspaditas are a formal tool
type and the fish scaler inserts are flakes some with minimal informal retouch. The residue analysis on the raspaditas are not
conclusive, however, they suggest that the proximal end was
used on a phytolith containing plant material.
8.3. Maize processing
At contact, the Spanish reported that the staple foods of the
inhabitants of Pacific Nicaragua were maize (Zea mays), beans
(Phaseolus spp.) and squash (Cucurbita pepo) (Abel-Vidor,
1981; Fowler, 1989). Maize husks, silk and kernels must be
Fig. 12. End microwear on an asymmetric raspadita. The broad arrow indicates the location of the SEM image on the raspadita.
1898
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
Fig. 13. Symmetric raspadita tip microwear. Note the sharpness of the dorsal ridge and lack of rounding on the flake scars. The broad arrow indicates location of the
SEM image on the raspadita.
removed from the cob before the kernels are made into tamales, tortillas or atoles (Johannessen and Hasdorf, 1994;
Katz et al., 1974). The predicted orientation of the inserts to
remove maize kernels with a composite tool would be similar
to a fish scaler, being perpendicular to length of board and usage. The resulting microwear would be distributed evenly
across the width of the end and the striations would be perpendicular to the edge, identical to that of a fish scaler. The usewear results support the hypothesis of maize processing as
well as fish scaling. However, maize processing accounts for
the phytolith residues found on the proximal ends of the
raspaditas.
8.4. General grating
Perry (2002) analysed residues from ‘‘manioc’’ grater teeth
from Venezuela and found eight different species, none of
which were manioc. Therefore, the manioc graters found by
Fig. 14. SEM image of usewear on the tip section of the drill. The dorsal side is up and the arris is prominent.
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
1899
Table 5
Summary of usewear, given as a percentage of tools examined (parallel (k), perpendicular (t), transverse (s) to edge)
Tools
Striations
Chipping
Polish
Rounding
k
t
s
Comet
Micro
Step
Macro
Edge
Ridge
Edge
Ridge
End usewear
Symmetric raspadita
Asymmetric raspadita
Tanged point
End scraper
Drill
Perforator
0
50
100
0
0
100
85
83
100
0
0
100
5
67
100
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
100
100
100
100
100
100
20
33
0
100
0
100
45
50
0
100
0
0
100
100
100
100
100
0
100
100
100
100
100
0
100
100
100
100
100
0
100
100
100
100
100
100
Tip usewear
Symmetric raspadita
Asymmetric raspadita
Tanged point
End scraper
Drill
Perforator
5
17
0
0
0
0
15
17
0
100
100
0
15
17
0
100
0
0
85
83
100
100
100
100
30
33
0
0
100
0
55
50
0
0
100
0
25
33
0
100
100
100
25
33
0
100
100
0
95
100
100
100
100
100
90
100
100
100
100
100
Mid-section usewear
Symmetric raspadita
Asymmetric raspadita
Tanged point
End scraper
Drill
Perforator
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
50
0
100
100
0
0
33
0
0
100
0
60
50
0
100
100
100
20
2
0
0
100
0
25
50
0
100
0
100
15
67
0
100
0
0
15
67
0
100
100
100
45
100
0
100
100
0
30
100
0
100
100
100
archaeologists could be general graters used on a variety of
materials. Adopting this functional fluidity, the hypothesis is
proposed that raspaditas were used to grate different materials
varying in hardness and the desired fineness.
Usage parallel to the lithic inserts would result in a slicing
function whereas scraping would require a perpendicular orientation. Therefore, a general grater board should show signs
of both perpendicular and parallel use. However, if the
raspadita board was used in the same orientation for all plants
processing, then this remains a likely function. There could be
a variety of sources for the residues.
9. Conclusions
Recent excavations at the site of Santa Isabel, Nicaragua,
have yielded a new, distinct stone tool class. As raspaditas
Fig. 15. Ovate raspadita residues: (A) long-ovate residue embedded in ventral edge polish; (B) short-ovate residue adhering to ventral end surface; (C) two rectangular-ovate residues in ventral end polish; (D) cross-shaped. Note: ovate residues usually occur in groups.
J. Debert, B.L. Sherriff / Journal of Archaeological Science 34 (2007) 1889e1901
1900
Table 6
A summary of expected usewear (parallel (k), perpendicular (t) to edge)
End usewear
Manioc graters
Fish scalers
Maize process
General grating
Tip usewear
Micro chipping
(on edge)
Macro chipping
(on edge)
Polish
(ridge/ edge)
Orientation
of striations
(to edge)
Micro
chipping
Macro
chipping
Polish
Striation
orientation
(to edge)
Lateral
Disperse
Disperse
Variable
Lateral
Disperse
Disperse
Variable
Lateral edges, ridges
Edges, ridges
Edges, ridges
Variable
k
t
t
Variable
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Sporadic
Variable
Variable
Variable
Variable
are new to the literature, detailed descriptions of their unique
characteristics are presented here. The function of the raspaditas was investigated through usewear and residue analysis.
The raspadita tool class contains members ranging from 0.5
to 3.0 cm in length, from 0.5 to 1.5 cm wide and less than
1 cm thick. The raspaditas have a convex proximal use end
and a haftable pointed distal tip. The proximal end has edge
angles clustering from 71 to 115 , but ranging from 58 to
123 . The distal tip is tapered with a blunt tip 0.5e1 cm
long and <0.5 cm in diameter. They were manufactured using
soft hammer percussion from white or pink chert, and then
retouched using unifacial pressure flaking.
The raspaditas are the most common formal lithic tool type
found at Santa Isabel, comprising approximately 70% of the
collection. Spatial analysis suggests a correlation between raspaditas and cultural features.
Given the large number of raspaditas found (over 3000) the
raspaditas were most likely hafted as a composite tool. The
usewear found on the distal tip further supports this idea.
The small size of the raspaditas corroborates the idea that
a number of raspaditas were used in a single tool.
The configuration of perpendicular striations on the proximal end suggests that the ventral edge made contact with the
material and the dorsal surface trailed behind in a unidirectional
manner (Cook and Dumont, 1983; Mansur, 1982; Odell, 2004).
The lack of edge damage indicates that a soft to medium soft
material was scraped. This could include meat, fresh hides,
green plants, soft plants, non-fibrous plants; soft woods, dry
hides, reeds, grasses, fibrous plants, and plants with silica
(Bamforth, 1987; Bradley and Clayton, 1983; Brink, 1978;
Odell and Odell-Vereecken, 1981).
Of the four proposed functional hypotheses for the raspaditas grating bitter manioc and fish scaling are unlikely with the
current usewear and residue data. Both maize processing and
general grating are supported by the usewear and residues
on the raspaditas.
Acknowledgements
This research was funded by an NSERC Discovery Grant to
BLS. The authors acknowledge the assistance of Sergio Mejia,
University of Manitoba with the SEM and Dr Gregory Monks
and Dr Leigh Syms for helpful discussions. The excavations at
Santa Isabel were funded by SSHRC through Dr Geoff McCafferty at the University of Calgary. Two anonymous reviewers are
thanked for their helpful comments on this manuscript.
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